


The Avatar and the Fire Prince

by SailorHaumea



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s01e01 The Boy in the Iceberg, For Want of a Nail, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22905376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorHaumea/pseuds/SailorHaumea
Summary: A change of the current sweeps Sokka and Katara away from the iceberg holding Aang, and a few hours later, Prince Zuko's ship crashes into it.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 101





	1. The Boy in the Iceberg

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly can't believe there haven't been more For Want of a Nail fics with the premise of "Zuko is the one who finds Aang in the iceberg."

Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation had not been expecting much when he woke up today to do his usual routine.

Spring was here, and with it, the thawing of the ice had begun.

With the spring thaw, icebergs came to the surface.

However, one particular iceberg's surfacing would forever change the prince's life.

A garish creaking sound reverberated through the ship as its bow pierced the ice. Zuko, who had been standing in his chamber looking at a bookshelf, was briefly knocked off his feet.

He ran to the deck of the ship as fast as he could.

"Lieutenant Jee! I hope you have a very good explanation for this!" he shouted.

The lieutenant rapidly glanced back and forth between the banished prince and the cause of the collision, a glowing iceberg.

"Uhh, Prince Zuko, we hit an iceberg," he explained.

The boy looked at the offending frozen mass of water, and then his eyes widened. "There's someone in there! Thaw this thing out!" he ordered.

As he said this, his uncle joined him on the deck.

The two princes joined the subordinate firebenders in beginning to melt the ice.

After a few seconds, the iceberg exploded in a blast of specks of ice.

Zuko stared in disbelief as a young boy with glowing eyes and arrow tattoos on his forehead and arms stood in the center of the shattered iceberg. The boy's eyes and tattoos ceased glowing as he collapsed onto the deck.

Meanwhile, Prince Iroh, retired General, Dragon of the West, gazed at the boy in amazement.

"Nephew," he began. "I believe we have just found the Avatar."

His nephew made a choking sound. "What?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aang awakens to learn that he's been asleep for nearly a century.

When Aang opened his eyes, he was not expecting to be in a metal room, sleeping in a bed.

Because he distinctly remembered being in a thunderstorm in the middle of the ocean before he...he wasn't quite sure how to describe it. Went into hibernation?

He sat up and took in his surroundings. A Fire Nation flag adorned the wall of the room. Then he noticed the structure of the door of the room.

Of course. He was on a Fire Nation ship. They must have rescued him.

He realized something - his staff wasn't in the room.

He got to his feet and opened the door, exiting into the hallway. Perhaps he could find someone to explain things to him?

However, as he rounded a corner, he bumped into a teenage boy with a mostly shaved head other than a black ponytail, gold eyes, and a burn scar across much of the left side of his face.

"Going somewhere?" the boy asked.

"Uhh, no, actually, I was just trying to find my staff and Appa," Aang explained.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Appa?"

"My sky bison."

"Oh. That thing. It's on the deck, we're having trouble feeding it. It's eaten a lot of the food meant for the komodo-rhinos."

Aang chuckled. "Yeah, he has five stomachs, so he eats a lot."

"You're the Avatar, right?"

Aang panicked. "Uhh, no, you must be mistaken, I'm just an airbender."

The boy looked at him skeptically. "Uncle says that when your eyes and tattoos were glowing when we found you, it was something called the Avatar State."

Aang let out a sigh. "Fine, you got me. I'm Avatar Aang."

"Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, heir to the Dragon Throne," the boy introduced himself.

Aang frowned. "There's no Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. And Fire Lord Sozin's eldest son is Prince Azulon."

Zuko looked at him in disbelief. "Fire Lord Sozin died seventy-nine years ago. Fire Lord Azulon, my grandfather, died four years ago."

Aang stared at him in puzzlement. "That doesn't make sense. Prince Azulon is just a few months old."

The prince's face was one of bafflement. "Fire Lord Azulon was ninety-five years old when he died, four years ago."

"Wait, if your grandfather died four years ago, and was ninety-five years old when he died, and last I heard he was a few months old-," Aang thought aloud.

"You were in that iceberg for ninety-nine years," Zuko finished.

Aang's head felt like it was spinning.

And then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very evocative of The Awakening.
> 
> Note that Aang has no idea that a war is even happening still.


End file.
